Foot pedal assembly



y 1940' A. v. ROMBERGER FOOT PEDAL ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 23, 1939 mm W 6m/ 69 4 4 09 4 INVENTOR,

Patented May 7, 1940 I UNITED ST AT- ES PATENT OFFIGE 2,1991963 p v FOOT.BEDAL ASSEMBLY v Arthur'V. Romberger, South Pasadena, Calif.Application January 2s, r939, S'er'ial No. 252324 shownsecuredtothefloor or foot board 5. In

5 Claims.

'Myinventionrlates particularly to foot pedals for actuating variousmechanisms where "a plu- =rality of pedal members are to be used in thecontrol-of machinery, such, for examplejas in An anchor or hinge plateor member 6, is

some cars this hinge plate might be on the inj clined portion of thefloor, as the-construction -may require or permit: Hingedly ,securedtosaidmember 6, is a pedal 8 can be made in the structure withoutdepartthe actuation of accelerator, clutch and brake 'mechanismsofa'motor vehicle. section l, shown to be of rectangular form, hav- Theprincipal object of my inventionis to proing its oppo'siteedges turneddownwardly'as at wide a pedal assembly which brings together a l, l",and provided with a cut-out B, to provide plurality of pedal members andassociates'th'em room for mounting a roller 9, at each side "there- 10h'proximity to eachother and in such form "of; said rollers 9, '9,extending slightly above "the 10 and relationship to each other, thatthey have plane of the pedal section, as clearly indicated. theappearance of a single, or unitary pedal The upper end of said pedalsection is shown structure with sectional portions tobe independturnedover to form a guard ID, to prevent the ently moved by the foot with theminimum of foot from accidentally slipping upwardly too far.

lateral movement of the foot on the pedal Said pedal section ishinged'with two hinges, as 15 structure. II, II, at its lower end, tothe member 6.

Another object of my invention is to provide At the left side of saidpedal section I, is a a pedal structure in which the sections rest insecond pedal section l2, hinged tothe member 6, the same plane, and inwhich a middle section as at l3, and having a cut-out M, to receive a isconnected for operation of brake mechanisms, roller element 15, adjacentthe roller element 9, 20 with sections at either side for operating oracand having its side, next to the middle pedal sectuating,respectively, an accelerator or throttle, tion I, turned down, as at l2,similar to the and a clutch mechanism, and so arranged that section I.

the brake operating pedal section can be actu- At the right side of saidpedal section I, is a ated by either foot or by both feet, if desired,as third pedal section I6, hinged tothe member 6, 25

by a woman or weak person. as at 11, and having a cut-out I8, to receivea Another object of my invention is to provide roller element l9, andhaving its side, next to the in such a sectional pedal structure havingthe middle pedal section 1, turned down, as at I6, pedal sections lyingin the same plane and consimilar to the section I, as clearly shown.

tiguous to each other, roller elements to facili- Thus I have provided apedal structure hav- 30 tate the movement of the foot laterally from oneing three pedal sections I, I2 and 16, so formed to the other across thedivision line between said and mounted that they form in appearance andpedal sections, said roller elements also serving assembly a single orunitary pedal structure in to position the foot and to sense themisplacethree sections, with all three sections lying in ment of thefoot relative to the pedal sections the same plane, and forming an ovalshaped as- 5 without looking. sembly, as clearly illustrated. Theadjacent Other objects and advantages of my invenedgesof the threesections are turned down tion will appear from the following descriptionof slightly to formsmooth side edges, and also to one practicalembodiment thereof, taken with give increased strength to the pedalsections,

the accompanying sheet of drawings on which making it possible to uselighter sheet metal for 40 the same is illustrated, and inwhich thepedal sections.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a foot pedal assembly By referring to Fig. 4,.in which the position embodying my invention; of the foot is indicatedin light broken lines, it Figure 2 is. a horizontal sectional view takenwill be seen that the foot rests upon the pedal on the line 22, of Fig.1; section in such manner that the roller element 9 45 Figure 3 is afragmentary sectional view taken would be positioned in the arch of thefoot when on the-line 3--3 of Fig. 1; and the foot is in its properrelative position over Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 thepedal structure and that it is an easy thing of Fig. 1. to move the footlaterally in either direction, Referring now in detail to the drawing,on across the division between the middle section 1, -50

, which I have illustrated one practical embodiand either of the sidesections l2 or IE.

ment of my invention, 5 designates the foot I do not limit my inventionto the particular board in front of the driver of an automobile,construction and arrangement here shown ,for also indicating theinclined portion" 5 thereof. descriptive purposes, knowing that slightchanges 55 ing from the spirit of the invention, nor do I limit theinvention to the use described in the illustration, but intend that apedal structure in two or more sections, in the same plane, adapted tobe independently operated by one foot by moving the foot laterally fromone to the other, iswithin the spirit of my invention.

I do not, therefore, limit my invention except as I may be limited bythe hereto appended claims, H

I claim:

1. A pedal structure for operating the brake,

the accelerator and clutch of an automobile and,

including a pedal structure with three sections contiguous to eachother, in the same plane, and' hingedly anchored at their lower ends,and roller elements near the juncture'of said sections for lateralmovement of the human foot thereon from one section to the other.

2. A pedal structure in three sections lying in the same plane andcontiguous to each other to ,be independently depressed, said sectionsbeing hingedly connected to a common axis whereby the free ends can beactuated by one foot moved laterally from one section to'the other, andantifriction means in the upper surface to facilitate the lateralmovement of the foot thereon from (one section to the other.

3. A pedal structure of the character shown and described and consistingof three pedal sections lying in the same plane and contiguous .to

each other edge to edge, hinge means connectingsaid sections to a commonmember secured to the floor board of an automobile, said middle sectionhaving its upper end provided with a guard to prevent accidentalslipping of foot upwardly, and roller elements adjacent the juncturebetween said sections to facilitate the lateral movement of afoot fromone section to the 1 other. 7 s

4. In a pedal structure, a plurality of pedal sections made of flatmaterial and held edge to edge in the same plane, so the human foot can"move laterally back and forth from one section to another across thejuncture between said sections for independent operation thereof, saidsections being hingedly mounted at their lower ends and said sectionstogether forming a uniform unit contour with anti-friction means intheir surfaces to facilitate the movement of the foot laterally over thefaces of said pedal sections.

5. A pedal structure of oval contour, formed in three sections edge toedge in the same plane,

